Rusty E Classes.......JEEEEZUZ!!

[O'lordWontYouBuyMeaFord]

I haven't had a Merc for years and years - the last one was a 1982 200T Estate, a fine vehicle which replaced an equally fine 240D from 1979.

Thought about another one.......for about 10 minutes. I saw a very scabby rusty R registered E Class Estate the other day and went to an auction to look at a few. Looked at four between 1998R and 2000V, all with very nasty rust in the front wings, rear arches and seams etc. One rusty example would suggest a Lemon or a car which had been shunted but to see five rusty heaps in 2 days suggests that what people say about modern Mercs (i.e they're a load of crap) is perfectly true.

Now driving a 2000 X new shape Mondeo, 125'000 miles, no rust(!) which replaced a 1995 M plate example which also had no rust and racked up 200'000 miles. I don't recall seeing many rusty R - V plate BMW's or Audis so I guess the problem is unique to MB. Maybe they're trying to recreate seventies Fiats?

 

[television]

guess the problem is unique to MB. Maybe they're trying to recreate seventies Fiats?

The Alfa's and Lancia's were worse.

Malcolm

 

[SLinKyjoe]

Errrrm, I think you were looking for a FORD forum!

 

[jimbarr]

'E' class rust its all part of the fun two days ago my suspension collapsed due to corrosion of the upper spring retaining cone in the inner wing now the car is supported by the spring jammed between the inner wing and the shocker squeezing the life out of the brake super-duper electric compensator gismo the car in question is a 1997 e class avantgarde (what are they new 40k or something) scary or what it could have been lethal I have been in the garage trade for 20 years and have not seen the likes of this the spring housing just lifted up like a baked bean can lid and let the spring pop out I would be interested to hear of any other experiences like this.

 

[robbo]

here's a few :-

http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=95120

 

[Pontoneer]

Look for the best W124 estate you can find ....

and cherish it !

 

[jberks]

1997/8 to 2001/2 E's rust like old lancias - yes we know. So do Mercedes. Its costing them millions to fix them. Why do you think they came up with the industry's first 30 year corrosion warranty? ( a desparate attempt to protect their reputation?).

Hence 2003-> E classes don't appear to rust, and, given the hiding MB have taken on this one, I wouldn't be surprised if the bodywork is still mint long after all the electronics have consigned my shiny W211 to the scrapyard!

Take your collapsed E to the local dealer, they may fix it for you FOC!

 

[mjtray]

'E' class rust its all part of the fun two days ago my suspension collapsed due to corrosion of the upper spring retaining cone in the inner wing now the car is supported by the spring jammed between the inner wing and the shocker squeezing the life out of the brake super-duper electric compensator gismo the car in question is a 1997 e class avantgarde (what are they new 40k or something) scary or what it could have been lethal I have been in the garage trade for 20 years and have not seen the likes of this the spring housing just lifted up like a baked bean can lid and let the spring pop out I would be interested to hear of any other experiences like this.

Sadly its a common fault.....we have just had the spring cups on our 1998 E240 replaced as they were just about to fail....also had all wings, bonnet and doors re-sprayed due to surface rust on the leading edges of the panels. Also had to have the front crossmember in the engine bay replaced as it was full of holes......all done free of charge by Mercedes.

Nice cars.....crap paint and doing away with seam sealant on welded joints (ie spring cups) in an effort to save money was a very daft idea by Mercedes.

Worst cars effected are 1997 to 2000/01

W210 models pre 1997 fair better as they have better paint, ie solvent based paint and not water based paint and the welds are also seam sealed.

 

[eyelight]

What's the cut off point for good W210s then ? Late 96 or early 97 ?
Will be looking for a good W124 estate later this year, but just in case any older 210s are knocking around.

 

[johnnycapone]

I have a 1990 w124 estate, and yes it has a few blemishes, but nothing like I have seen on newer MB's, ie rotten wheel arches and the like.
regards
John

 

[Blobcat]

What's the cut off point for good W210s then ? Late 96 or early 97 ?
Will be looking for a good W124 estate later this year, but just in case any older 210s are knocking around.

They are not all that bad, people tend to discuss the bad ones. With the knowledge you can gain from this forum you should be able to find a decent 210. And if it has FMBSH then if it has some rust they may cover it. However there are quite a few 210's out there without the rust.

 

[citroennut]

in dec asked local dealer to check rust as friends '98 e300 had a lot of bodywork done. was asked what to look for in particular, told them front wings, rear wings and tailgate. they came back to me saying it needed new front wings, the rears fixed, the tailgate done and the door tops, on further inspection whilst working on the doors it was decided to replace the two rear doors as well. on returning the car the paint didn't match so the bonnet was resprayed as well, unfortunately the authorised repairer - bennets (scotland) in ayr cannot hang rear doors nor can they align them! it has been back 4 times sometimes better sometimes worse, to the extent that rear door fouls front door! also bits of trim disappear inc engine undertray. four months on and it still looks as if it has been in a smash, though the dealer is dealing with the problem.
so to go back to original question, if a 210 has had warranty work done on it there should be no further problems in buying one
cheers
simon

 

[jberks]

on returning the car the paint didn't match so the bonnet was resprayed as well, unfortunately the authorised repairer - bennets (scotland) in ayr cannot hang rear doors nor can they align them! it has been back 4 times sometimes better sometimes worse, to the extent that rear door fouls front door! also bits of trim disappear inc engine undertray. four months on and it still looks as if it has been in a smash, though the dealer is dealing with the problem.

It amazes me that with so many decent body shops around, a main dealer would use a shoddy one. I have to say, if anyone wants main dealer bodywork done, I can heartily recommend MB of Leeds (Derwents) - I'm not sure who they use (used to be "Magnetic Motors" who had an excellent reputation - probably still is) but the corrosion work done on my E240 was always first class - good enough for a fussy bugger like me anyway.

 

[mjtray]

From my experience the cut of date is anything prior to the 1997 model year, which I think must have been introduced in late 1996 I suppose.....so in other words its only the very early W210's that seem to get away with it.

As much as I love Mercs, I sadly have to say that I see many many W210 Mercs coming through at auction and all tend to have rust to a certain extent....some very minor, some horrors.

Problem areas, being:
1) Front Crossmember
2) Spring Cups
3) Front Wheel Arches
4) Bonnet, just below grill
5) Door Tops....peel back the door rubber at the top and have a good look....you may not like what you see.
6) Front of Rear Wheel Arches where they meet the sills and also on the lips of the arches themselves
7) Rear of Rear Wheel Arches where the rear wing and bumper meet.

Tailgates on Estates......normally by the number plate light and around the boot lock......the latter item also applies to the saloon.

Now whilst this all sounds bad and frankly MB's desire to cut costs has come back to haunt them, MB are being very good on rust claims. It appears that MB will cover all costs on cars upto 8 years in age. After that they may ask for contributions towards the costs.

Personally I think this is fair and I can't imagine that there would be many other manufacturers out there taking the same stance.

By way of background our E240 Estate was a 1998 car with 110,000 miles on the clock, had been serviced by a Mercedes specialist for the last 2 years and was originally an Import car.........MB never gave me any hassle on any of this. I let them know early on in the initial conversation that I was aware of the rust issues on the W210 range.

The workmanship on the repairs was first class and was undertaken by an MB approved bodyshop in Slough.

I think if you do find a car that has been sorted you will have yourselves a lovely car as they are very nice cars to drive and own

 

[amanda]

Springing springs and other things

Jimbarr is lucky the spring stayed in his car... the front suspension coil spring shot out of my 230TE at Easter whilst I was driving along at 60 mph . I thought the tire had blown or the exhaust had dropped off or something. When I pulled in (sedately believe it or not) and looked back, the spring (all 2 feet of it) was bounding down the road still. However my car is 20 years old so a little fragility is to be expected. What interests me at the moment is should I change it for a 1996 P reg that doesn't yet have any rust on but has 121000 miles on the clock and a FMBSH, or should I stick with my rather battered W124 which has 175000 on the clock, a FSH, and develops a new ailment on a regular basis - on the principle that I've almost finished replacing the entire car (barring the head gasket, engine and automatic transmission) and I know where it's been for the last 18 months at least(usually on a ramp....). Everyone here seems to be richer than me and they're all talking about newer E-Classes rusting. What about the early new E-class, as in 1996?

 

[johnnycapone]

(barring the head gasket, engine and automatic transmission)
Isnt that tempting fate a little Amanda?
Regards
John

 

[johnmc]

Go for a post-facelift car (>1999) and check for signs of rust carefully. If you pull back the rubber seals on the top edge of the door you may find that some preventative rust treatment has been added (Waxoyl or similar) and that would indicate a lower risk.

Read the long thread started in April 2004, that will show you most of the points to watch for.

John

 

[OlafMaxwell]

I dont agree with the post 1999 cars being better. I have a 2000 one and the 4 dors were replaced, they rusted badly. I was telling a friend of mine who has a 2001 W210 which the dealer assured him was perfect, dealer had checked it. Anyway I showed him where it starts, and guess what, was worse than mine was. The W210 in my opinion is as bad mechanically and rust wise as the old Lancias, the Beta.....structural rust is a big issue with them, cross members, too.

 

[johnmc]

Hi Olaf,
Actually I wouldn't buy a W210 again, period. Just trying to suggest ways of reducing risk. Anyone buying one now also needs to realise that they are high maintenance and will need regular checking for tin rot for the time that they own the car, bodywork and chassis! There's also reports on other forums of pretty much every vehicle in the range breaking out in rust, at least for models shipped since about 1999. E Class is without doubt the worst though.

Another colleague at work is running a 2 year ML, big rust spots appearing on the doors on that too, inside out. It's been curious to note at work that over the last 3 years the number of Mercs in the car park has dropped significantly, replaced by Lexus and BMW. I wonder why...! Mine is now the only E Class, used to be half a dozen out of 500 cars.

John

 

[big x]

Re-water based paints,I have a W124 brochure dated 02/92 and it states most but not all paint being used by MB is non-solvent based.It indicates 100% Water based paint will be introduced shortly.
Logic suggests all W210's from late 95,all W202's from late 93 and perhaps some late face lift W124's used such paint.These are the models that kicked off MB major corrosion problems.Only the W210 however has structural corrosion problems...I wouldn't buy one unless very cheap.

adam